Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Reed Hall said the ranking isn't encouraging as the state tries to compete in a national and global economy. Hall says businesses have not started in some areas of the state because of a lack of broadband.

A New York company that tracks broadband trends, Akamai Technologies, listed Vermont, Delaware, Washington D.C., New Hampshire and Utah as top states for fastest high-speed Internet connections.

Hall told the Journal Sentinel that expanding broadband service in rural areas is comparable to the expansion of the electrical grid in the 1930s.

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